Diamond BCP-1 questions...

I've never seen anyone before this say anything about the Diamond "messing with the attack". It doesn't, apart from possibly when set to maximum, but even then I'd be skeptical since the Diamond's ratio is so low. I wonder if the person who said that had much experience with compressors.

 

I've used one for several years now, and haven't had it mess with the attack at all.

As for powering, you could use just the volto. I'm assuming you're wanting the charge pump for 18v, but that may be unnecessary depending on the rest of your rig. I ran mine at 18v when I first got it, but switched to 9v when I needed the power spot. Have had no issues at all with it on 9v, either. I play passive basses, though.

 

I have used the Diamond comp the past few years. I find that it sounds better at 18v for me, so I attempted at one point to use a Godlyke Power Pump, with a One Spot. All I got was a loud hiss coming from my rig when I powered it that way. I'm wondering if it has to do with the Diamond's centre-positive power requirement? Either way, I now power my pedals with a T-Rex Chamelon, no issues now. I've never tried a Volto, so I'm not sure if that would be any better.

As for the attack issue, I use two basses, a P with flats, played finger style, and a J with rounds, played with a pick. I only use the Diamond with the P, as I find I like to keep the attack/edge when playing with a pick. That said, I'd say the same for any comp, the Diamond isn't any better or worse than any other (I've tried a bunch). But with P, it sounds fabulous, and I'll never get rid of it. Not sure what you're looking to get out of a comp, but for what I want, the Diamond is perfect.

Hope that helps.

 

If that's what you're wanting, the Diamond is the comp you need. It's perfect for that. I'd try it at 9v; if you think you need 18, you can always figure something out later. if you've got the extra spot on your volto, 18v cables are super cheap.

 

The Diamond doesn't mess with anything, it represents pure sonic perfection.

Seriously though, I'd say it is a gentle, non-intrusive yet effective compression that also contributes to the tonal enhancement of the pedal. Personally, I've read a ton on the pedal, and I own one, and I've yet to see anyone say anything bad about it. There may be some people out there who want more control over their compression, or those who need more of a utility effect (higher ratio, etc), but I don't see those as complaints but rather as them needing a different pedal.

I run mine with the adapter it came with, so 18V. I've used both active and passive basses through it (right now I have one of each), and I also have it at the end of my chain which contains multiple dirt pedals (like 5+), and never had an issue with it clipping or sounding poor.

 

Are any of you using the regular non-bass version of the Diamond Compressor? If so, how does it sound- I'm wondering how big the difference between the two is?

 

I was considering trying this, but according to the instructions the volto can't handle 'always-on' pedals.

 

I think they're emphasizing high-draw digital effects in that passage rather than something like the You're Doom or BCP-1.

On another note, I believe that you'll need some sort of polarity reversing cable for the BCP-1. It requires center positive power, whereas the Volto, I'm assuming, puts out center negative power. And I don't know if the Volto comes with such a cable (it may). Just something to be aware of.

 

Yes, the polarity reverser goes last after the charge pump.

 

So you can use the bass comp with the volto then, the charge just won't last as long?

 

I adore my Diamond comp. sounds better at 18 volts for sure.

 

I know I'd love the diamond bcp (and I'd definitely run it at 18v) but I recently received a pedaltrain volto, along with a pt mini, from pedaltrain - and I know it would be fried. I think I might get an ovni smoothie instead.